In 1990, you still could get a great luxury car if you wanted one, especially in the redesigned ’90 Town Car. Still unapologetically traditional, its elegance remained intact despite the loss of the ’70s style razor edges of the 1980-89 model. It even won the 1990 Motor Trend Car of the year–for what it’s worth. Has any Lincoln won an award since?

Despite the bumpy start to the decade, most of the ’90s were pretty flush, starting in 1993 or so. And the Town Car was right there with us, providing a solace from the Gulf War, S&L screw-ups, Pan-Am’s demise, Zima commercials, those Budweiser frogs and the Macarena. An isolation chamber was just the ticket for many!

It is my opinion that 1990 was the last time a redesigned Town Car really had both the traditional luxury look and modern touches down to a “T.” The 1998-02 generation lost a lot of details, chrome accents and, of course, the infamous Jac Nasser cost-cutting was beginning to get all-too obvious even in top-trim Lincolns.

To our younger viewers, I imagine a 1990 TC looks rather old hat, but when you consider how drastically modern it appeared when compared to the 1989 model, the change is dramatic!

I love the body style of the 1990 to 1998 models. Give me a Jack Nicolas Golden Bear edition with handling package for the dual exhaust. Green exterior and tan interior. I might just sit and stare at it for hours.

Saw one JUST as you described pulling into a Country Club this am on the way to work. Driven by what appeared to be the original owner. The car was absolutely spotless, haven’t seen one that clean here in NH in a long time.

I’ve softened to the roundy-round “Packard” Town Cars, I was staring at a Cartier version at a stoplight the other day, there are certain details on the car that look pretty nice, the little fins that slightly come out of the tail lights, the big thick plasti-chrome door handles, they have a cartoonish-ganster car from a Batman comic look to them, thats both dated, weird, but strangely, semi-nostalgic too.

+1 Carmine, I had a very profound admiration for the 90-97, even as a little kid I thought they exuded class, but the 98s with that cartoonish grin and somewhat more pedestrian profile did nothing for me, I thought it looked like an old man car. Now I find them fairly attractive for the same reasons you describe. The 03 facelift ones I still haven’t warmed up to though.

Personally, I like the 90 update and the 03 update mainly because it restored the hood ornament, for which I have some weird fetish for. When I first started to really notice cars, that was pretty much my first thought-why the hell didn’t you put a hood ornament on the 98 update?

“It even won the 1990 Motor Trend Car of the year–for what it’s worth. Has any Lincoln won an award since?”

No because that was the last year that Lincoln offered a car that did not look like it was simply a warmed over Ford.

I actually like the 81-89 Town car better then the 90-97 version. to me the 81-89 model conveyed a certain majestic/regal presence when new and surviving 81-89 Townies that are in good shape still retain a stately look to them. By contrast the 90-97 Town car seems to have not aged well at all.

To me the 90-97 Town car possesses no majestic or stately ambiance but is simply a big car with leather seats.

Where you see square and stately, I see stodgy and antiquated. The 1990-1994 Town Car had the perfect blend of stately, understated American presence and modern, almost European styling. It made the 1980-1989 TC look like an old-fashioned trolley cart in comparison.

The 1995 refresh took that sophistication and poured a whole bottle of Geritol all over it. The 1998 redesign took whatever was left of that sophistication and led it around the back of the barn. Bang.

It all depends on what you’re looking for. The Broughamite in me adores the 80-89 Town Car precisely because of its baroque features. The Rolly grille, the double headlights, the landau/vinyl roof, the opera lamp and turbine wheels. Very slick.

I like the 90 update, but it can be a bit…dull depending on the particular car. I especially think the white and silver ones look painfully dull. A guy who goes to my church has a nice dark blue one that’s been Broughamed out and it wears it well.

I definitely don’t agree–sure, it’s missing the razor edges and stand-up grille that characterized Lincolns in the 70’s and 80’s, but I think the 1990-97 model is an attractive car, particularly the 1995-97 refresh. Very minor changes but I think it improved the look. As a whole they still, to me, have a very distinct square-rigged elegace, and I think they’ve aged relatively well. The 98+ cars, on the other hand, went a little too far into jellybean shapes afterward.

Plus, you must remember, in 1990 these beat everyone to market. The “bubble” B-body GM redesign didn’t come online until the 1991 model year, and it was 1992 for the aero Crown Vic/Grand Marquis and for the last RWD Fleetwood. The Town Car stood alone as a new shape in 1990 and earned some deserved recognition for it.

I liked this body style too, I had relatives that had a Cartier one of these, I remember that the Cartier had one of the top 5 softest seats I have ever sat in in a new car, they were awesome. I remember driving an Executive Series one that my mother rented on a trip, fantastic highway car, it does 75 like walking down the street. I remember it was a well equipped Exec series, around a 1993 or so, it still had the AutoLamp auction with automatic dimming, as I recall.

Later I worked at a Buick dealer where we had a used 1996-97 Cartier that was all cream colored, with a moonroof, I drove it home a few times, and I borrowed it for a New Years eve party, everyone that rode to the party with me was impressed with the maximum swankness that was displayed by that big cream coloredTown Car.

Carmine what are the other 4 softest automotive seats in your opinion? I test drove an 94 Cartier and agree the velour seat was one of softest I’ve sat on. My other favorites are the 87 TC Signature, 75 Buick Electra Park Avenue, and 76 Chrysler New Yorker (all in velour of course).

The circa 85-87 Signature is there too, the 1985 era FWD Park Avenue leather seats, believe it or not, they were ultra soft, the 1980 Park Avenue, cloth or leather, fantastic, the 1990 special edtion Park Avenue Ultra with the 1000 way power seats that were like leather bean bags. These are in no particular order.

Lincoln discontinued the automatic dimmers option for the Town Car after 1991, a feature I always liked. Our 2010 Lexus RX350 has this feature which works very well. I hope this option is offered on more cars in time to come.

If you mean how long did they work without fail, I have never had that option stop working on any car I have owned. I have a 65 Chrysler Imperial with the feature that still works. Besides the 2010 Lexus we have the one that worked the best for me were the 80’s Lincoln’s. I think they did better that the Cadillac’s of that era due to the sensor was inside the car protected from the elements. The lens of the electronic eye on the Cadillac would dull with age being it was plastic, which effected the sensitivity over time.

When the 1990 Town Car came out I remember thinking it was a modern looking update of the traditional Lincoln. I know that this body style seems to be favored by the majority of Pantherphiles but I agree with the above comment that it hasn’t aged well. Give me an 81-89 (or better yet a Mark vi) in all it’s baroque glory.

I have a lot of admiration for these stylistically, although I’m not a Panther fan by any stretch. I thought this car did a remarkable job of modernizing the look of the Town Car while keeping the flavor of the previous version, which was not an easy task at all. I think it’s in the same league as the W126 Mercedes S-Class stylistically (and for similar reasons). As with the Mercedes, its successor didn’t look nearly as right.

This is exactly correct. Ford should have maintained the ’90 – ’97 car, with appropriate updates, to this day. This should have become America’s Toyota Century. And, when I become a certain age, that may not be that far away, I would be in line for this car. Install Ford’s current 5.0 and 6 speed automatic, their current high end Sony sound system, a decent tow package, and I’d be wheeling out of the showroom sometime soon.

If somehow they had renamed it Continental, that would have been the icing on the cake!

I disagree that any car should keep the same basic design for a quarter century, but I agree with both of you that this was the apex of Panther Town Car design: Conservative, but not anachronistic, with better proportions and fewer fussy details than its predecessor.

The car was due for a fresh look in ’98, but the inverted bathtub they came up with left me cold. I suspect they felt the old car looked too tall and were going for lower and sleeker. In my judgment, they missed the mark.

Interesting take. I am also far from a Panther fan, but I like this version a lot. Whereas the 80-89 always looked a bit off to me, like they weren’t sure how to downsize (as opposed to Cadillac which got the ’77s exactly right), the ’90 was in a whole different league. It’s got great proportions, great presence, and smooth styling that’s elegant and I’ve always thought timeless. Far better than its successor.

The W126 is definitely one of my all time Mercedes, and it’s interesting that you’ve compared these two. While I never really connected it, they do have similar proportions, and something similar in the way the C pillar tapers rearward and in the relationship of the C pillar and rear fender. This was always one of the best aspect of the Town Car….both cars, actually.

I always admire these when I see them, although it’s too bad that most of my memories of them are battered NYC livery cars.

“It even won the 1990 Motor Trend Car of the year–for what it’s worth. Has any Lincoln won an award since?”

Not really anything to rave about. Back then, MT COTY was for “Domestic Built” only, and there had to be a “sheetmetal change” or other updates to get nominated. The new Town Car still had the 302, and didnt get 4.6 OHC until the next year. So, the TC won by default, since there was nearly nothing “new” from Detroit in MY ’90.

MT since has revised COTY to include imports, instead of the ‘handicap’. Big 3 seemed to be ‘taking turns’ winning, as if it really mattered. I mean the last ‘domestic only’ winner was the ’97 Malibu and sure was forgettable.

Even though I was not the target age, these “aero” Lincolns made a big impression on me. Sure they look boxy now, and of course are, but back then things like the Mark VII front end, Euro door handles and flat sides made the car come off as a unique combination of sporty and stately, like a Bentley. If there was one next to me in traffic I would like to look down the sides for some reason.

Like the 77-92 full-sized Cadillacs, these Lincolns looked narrow for their length which gave an impression of maneuverability and grace. The tall side glass and aircraft style doors added a sense of modernity and in total this was a very nice piece of work.

They were really popular in So Cal, which I cannot say about the generations that preceded and replaced them.

I have owned both body styles of these cars. I had one like the all dark blue 89, one of the most handsome daily driver’s I have owned. The later body style 90-97 would have been much more comfortable and attractive with high back seats like the previous body. The 89 was the last attractive Lincoln for my taste but they were all bulletproof.

My understanding at the time, when this body was designed, Ford had recently acquired Jaguar among other things. I was told that this generation Lincoln was “designed” in the UK which doesn’t surprise me. The appearance does have a bit of that British reserve to it compared to the previous generation.

Ford’s purchase of Jaguar wasn’t completed until the 1990 cars were already on sale, so that wouldn’t have had any influence on the design one way or another. Obviously, Ford had its own design centers in the U.K. and Germany, but I don’t know offhand where this Town Car came from.

It also feels like the presidential car of that era (much like the 80s Brougham reminds me of Ronald Reagan), even though Clinton was actually driven in the whale body Fleetwood, not a Lincoln. It makes me think of Manhattan in the 90s, Rudy Giuliani, and the Clinton Administration. And of course, prosperity.

Nah, I wouldn’t call it that. I’d call it more an attempt to do a dark quasi-sequel to some of the teen movies of the ’80s (including John Cusack’s Say Anything), where a guy who’s now a hitman goes home for his high school reunion.

Yes, I remember that too, Dan Ackroyd and John Cusak both drove black 1996 or so Town Cars. Grosse Pointe Blank wasn’t a Pulp Fiction style movie, it was as someone else described, a take off on the 80’s teen comedies, recast as a dark comedy with a hitman returning for his ten year 1986 high school reunion.

He probably is, he is a huge law enforcement buff too, he supposedly has a massive collection of police badges. There are several of his movies where cars are mentioned as part of the story, Blues Brothers, of course, Dragnet is another.

I think the Town Car as his vehicle in the movie was meant also a running gag as to how much things have changed that at the time of his reunion no one was driving American cars anymore. Edsel Ford lived in Grosse Point, and the Lincoln is sort of a vestige of John Cusack’s “roots”, of course by the end of the movie he has a change of heart, is no longer a hit man, gets the girl, and so no longer needs the car as a connection to the life he left behind so by then he’s driving a Volvo…If I recall, it’s been a while. On the other hand…maybe I’m reading into it too much and a hitman just needs a car with a big trunk.

While living in LA my folks came out on the train to visit me from the east coast in September, 1990. Wanting to impress them, I rented a 1990 Lincoln Town Car to pick them up at Union Station and take them on a tour of the city. They sat together in the back seat -absolutely drowned in the spaciousness! I recall that it didn’t have much power off the line and plowed and dived dramatically in turns. It was quiet and smooth and quite a dramatic contrast to my ’89 CRX.

I’m an admitted fan of the square, pre-aero look of cars (my favorite Lincolns are the ’75-’79 and the late 50s models), so when these came out to replace the ’80-’89 versions I was immediately shifted further towards my already-favorite at the time, the ancient Cadillac Brougham. And once that was updated 3 years later, I didn’t understand why they couldn’t keep the chrome bumpers on these Lincolns but could integrate them into the ’93-’96 Fleetwood. A big RWD boat needs some real bumpers and big chrome bumper guards, dagnabbit. Okay, reactionary rant over.

However, at the time, most people disagreed, this was considered a far more contemporary design. There’s an excellent comparo in Popular Mechanics (you can find it on google books) comparing this, the new for ’90 Brougham with 5.7L, and the Chrysler. It concluded that the Town Car was the one to have, though it praised the Brougham’s devotion to classic style as well, reserving most of its ire for the Chrysler. The first one I remember, a 1990 in dark grey, was driven by the recently-divorced mother of one of my day-camp mates. His father owned what was then (1990) a successful restaurant in town and they were doing pretty well, I imagine part of the settlement was keeping ex-Mrs. in that Town Car. In hindsight I guess these were the last Lincolns to really be embraced by anyone but the elderly, as Mrs. was pretty young but seemed quite pleased with her car.

Anyway, over the years I came to appreciate these more as all other cars became blobbier and less and less formal…these began to look more the part. I always think of the one in “Scent of a Woman” driving Col. Slade and Charlie Simms around Manhattan; this Town Car is an iconic image of Rudy Giuliani’s Manhattan of the 1990s.

And the CC effect again: On Sunday, about twilight, I was walking up Park Avenue in the 60s. I was crossing a street (the light had just changed) and was looking to my left to ensure no one was turning as I crossed. At that moment, a dark grey one, with either a yet-darker grey or black padded roof, accelerated from the light with that classic jet-plane whir from the AOD and went bobbing by up the Avenue. Lights on, surrounded by those apartment houses and dusk in Manhattan. What a classy ride. I’ll never understand why people don’t want to drive big cars like this anymore.

That car is b-i-g. I saw this one at several US car shows here. It’s a 1997 Jack Nicklaus edition, imported in 2008. It really looked like a brand new car. Source and more pictures: http://www.carrelation.nl/story.php?story=292

A brother in law was travelling a lot for his job in the early 90s and started renting these. I remember the changeover in 90-91 from the 5.0/AOD to the 4.6/AOD-E. The new drivetrain made all the difference, and made this the first big car since the early 70s that didn’t seem to be built with a first objective being to accommodate CAFE or the EPA.

He lusted after a TC for years, finally bought a black Touring Edition, maybe a 2000 or 2001. That one was a disappointment and he replaced it with an Avalon.

I have come close a couple of times to pulling the trigger on one of these, but it has not yet happened.

I think Ford, Lincoln and Mercury did an excellent job on all the Panther rebodies in the early 90s, the Town Car really set the tone. Sad part is I was 9 years old when the 98s came out and I thought they were serious downgrades and visibly cheapened, I mean all three variations had completely different rooflines for the Crown Vic, Grand Marquis and Town Car from 92-97, then, all of a sudden, they all had the same roofline! They all looked like old people cars from then on, in fact they actually reminded me of the 80s Box Panthers, which I never much cared for. Shame too, because these Town Cars proved that traditional luxury(in the American sense) can indeed still work in a post Mercedes/post Lexus world.

In addition to their aero meets Euro boxiness, the things I remember most about these TCs were the wheels and tires.

I thought… finally a traditional American luxury car that is putting vehicle dynamics high on the list. The frequent fitment of alloy wheels compared to say a Cadillac gave me that impression. When you got closer you noticed the gigantic Michelin lettering on sidewalls, on each and every one of these until production ended. The Cadillacs of the time had something like Uniroyals, puke. What a statement Lincoln was trying to make. The association with the Mark VII surely helped.

Then there was that thinest of whitewalls, neatly countersunk, and looking incredibly contemporary. Suddenly the whitewalls a Cadillac looked old-fashioned and grandpa.

Lincoln in the 90’s and early 00’s produced some very good wheel designs, and you’re right in that every 90+ TC had alloys of some sort. No hubcaps or wire wheels here. I’ve always been particularly fond of the concave alloys with logo center caps used on the 2000 to 02 Executive, as well as the “octastar” polished alloys on the 1997-98 Mark VIII.

I did always like those slimline whitewalls, despite my usual disdain for whitewalls on a modern car (I despise the ones on my ’97 Crown Vic, but they came with the car and I can’t justify the price of replacing 4 tires just to get rid of the whitewalls…)

Though I’m pretty sure the wires were at least still available, the turbine 70’s wheel was still available for the first couple of years that these were out too. The gold car in the top photo has hubcaps, I think those were the base Town Car wheels, but the BBS lookalike wheels were pretty popular.

I didn’t notice that the gold car has hubcaps. Good call. It’s been so long since I’ve seen one so equipped that I’d forgotten about them. The turbines were definitely still available, but they were alloys, if an older design. Kind of timeless though.

Are you *sure* wires were available? Pretty sure I’ve never seen one of those on a ’90+ TC, other than ones that have had daytons retrofitted.

CARMINE

Posted September 17, 2014 at 10:52 PM

Maybe for the first few years, I did see lots of these down here in Miami, and I remember seeing more than a couple with the “old style” 1980-1989 Town Car wires, which I never thought looked right on the new body style either, perhaps they were dealer installed for die-hards?

A good stately update of the Town Car. Its interesting to compare it’s interpretation of the upright styling with today’s featured LeBaron. I was never crazy about this Lincoln’s third window, but the C pillar would have been massive without it.

I liked the third window a lot. It was one of the factors contributing to that fresh, long & airy upper body. Ford got those side windows so damn flush, it was like they were trying to compensate for the side window sins on all prior Panthers. The flush windows, pull-out door handles, mesh alloy wheels, Michelin tires and two barely visible tailpipes said leader and state-of-the-art. I just wished they played up the hod rod Lincoln part more, like with an LSS (LSC) version. The exhaust outlets, for example, were much quieter looking than on the Mark VII and reminded me of the overly demure ones on a mid-60s Thunderbird. At least the ones Cadillac hung (literally) under that final FWD Fleetwood had some balls.

I thought this design was fantastic at the time and still do. So elegant, sleek and stately, it exuded quiet confidence, luxury and presence. The ’98-’02 successor was a big step backwards, and appeared to be trying too hard. It looked like someone sat on the back half of it and taped a shield to the front end.

I love this era of Town Car. I was working at a rental agency at the time and we had a slew of these. These were stout, reliable and comfortable cars. Also as a bonus, a spectacular one wheel burnout was easily achieved.

These cars were very well done. It was a challenging design brief: update a traditional American cruiser without alienating a loyal buyer base. Ford did and admirable job, especially on the exterior. I think they missed some details on the inside like the fake stitching and obviously fake wood. However, it was still a really nice package and hit the bullseye. I remember reading a review when these came out that Ford executives, including design chief Jack Telnack, all got them as company cars, which they never did with the earlier more baroque Lincoln.

The first time I saw one in person was at an auto show, and I really liked it, even though I had been bitten by the import bug at that point. I was in my early 20s, so not the target demo, but put it on my list of “someday” cars, thinking that I’d enjoy getting a nice big, comfortable Lincoln when the time was right. A great, contemporary version of a great American car. Lincoln has since lost it, so now that I am solidly in the demographic target for this type of car, there is nothing in their current line-up that I’d even consider.

I parked next to one of these a few months ago, and was struck by two things: 1) how long it had been since I’d last seen one, and 2) how low the car was, compared to all the current “tall” cars and SUVs. My theory on the relative rarity of the cars today is that when the original owners sold these on, they were snapped up and turned into taxis and livery cars–Panther toughness with Lincoln luxury–and then driven into the ground.

It always bothered me that they didn’t use real wood, especially considering there were cars in the lineup that had “real” wood. A thin veneer over a plastic backing, mind you, this was no solid slab of wood like you see in some euro cars, but the wood accents in the ’95+ Mark VIII did involve an actual tree. Would it have been so hard to give the same courtesy to the Town Car? Seems like something that definitely would have added to the build cost, but also would have made the interior more credible.

I’m confronted with the height scenario every day. My DD is a ’97 Crown Vic, and while it may ride a little lower than new due to compression of the original springs over 17 years, it’s pretty much stock. And it’s lower than even current compact cars. Yet it’s longer than pretty much anything out there save for a Suburban. The lack of height definitely reduces the visual mass. Also, compared to the ’98 to ’11 cars, the lower hood and less blunt front fascia reinforces the effect.

I never get too hung up over fake wood, what you see in Mercedes Benz is almost always a thin veneer laminated around plastic or at best an unrelated wood substrate(often comprised of many knotty glued together pieces). Plus once it’s under 1/8″ of poly it kinda defeats the naturalness of wood.

It was great meeting you over the weekend, really enjoyed our discussions. You are right, it’s always good to meet someone who has car on the brain. A few comments on this post:

The person who gets credit for this design is Jack Telnack. I had the chance to talk to him at the recent Lincoln Museum opening, a class guy, also did the Taurus.

I agree with most of the commenters, the 98 redesign had none of the style of this one. I always wanted Ford to put the Mk VIII engine in, upgrade to real wood, tighten up the suspension, detrim the exterior, use big buckets and console and create a fauxBentley Continental. It would have certainly one upped the many fake Mercedes clones running around at the time.

They did most of those things…just to a different Panther. The Marauder checks all of those boxes except the wood. 32V engine, upgraded suspension, less chrome, buckets/console.

I agree, though, that a Town Car LSC would have been a very impressive package too! There was nothing stopping them from doing so except not wanting to spend the money and/or not thinking there was a market…kind of a shame.

the 32v was a real missed opportunity with the Town Car, Lincoln really claimed that engine as their own as the InTech and the Town car was always the odd man out sticking solely with the pedestrian 16V the other Panthers got. Between 1995 and 2005 every single Lincoln used the 4.6 32V except the Town Car and the 1998 Navigator(but the following years used the DOHC). Really I never understood why the Panthers never got the 3V after 2005/6 either.

The Navi was actually the 5.4 DOHC, which was kind of the big brother to the 4.6. Made a little more power and a lot more torque. But the main focus of your point is correct–the TC was the only Lincoln without an InTech V8. Even the Continental had it, which is (to my knowledge) the only FWD application of that engine ever produced. Ford didn’t have a FWD trans that could handle that kind of power though, so they had to tune it down to 255 HP, which put it at a disadvantage to the Northstar Seville.

Thanks Glenn, it was a pleasure meeting you as well. I agree that an “LSC-ized” Town Car may have helped the Town Car, and made it less of a nameplate associated with retirees. It could have been interesting!